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The Historical Monograph 



SUGGESTIONS FOR THE 

Preparation of Historical Monographs 



BY 

LAWRENCE HENRY GIPSON, B.A. (Oxon.) 

Professor of History, Wabash College 



JOURNAL PRINTING COMPANY 

Crawfordsville, Indiana 

1814 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

The writer is convinced that undergraduates in begin- 
ning the study of History should receive definite instruc- 
tion in historical methods. Obviously, it is important that 
they should be kept from forming faulty habits of work 
which they almost inevitably do unless carefully guided. 
Only comparatively few of the total number of college 
students who select work in History continue it until they 
enter any really advimced course where time can well be 
spared to emphasize research processes. Various expedients 
have been tried by conscientious instructors to meet this 
situation. The writer has made use of lectures, has posted 
instructions, has held conferences, and has referred stu- 
dents to approved works dealing with this subject; but no 
method seems to yield such results as the placing of a very 
brief manual of instructions in the hands of every imder- 
graduate as soon as he takes up a course in History. As 
he advances in his work he will then be able profitably to 
make use of the more or less elaborate treatises on histori- 
cal method. The suggestions that follow have come from 
various sources and are among those given to beginners 
by many of the leading contributors to the field of History. 



Copyright, 1914, 

by 

Lawrence Henry Gipson 



T)l3 



The Historical Monograph 



WHAT IS AN HISTORICAL MONOGRAPH? 

Every student who is doing work in the field of His- 
tory should have some experience in the preparation of 
so-called historical monographs. The monograph is a 
special study which is limited to a careful consideration of 
some one subject. It should be critical in nature and should 
sum up the latest investigations that have been made rela- 
tive to the subject in hand. Therefore, to be of value, the 
monograph as far as possible should avoid the reiteration 
of commonplace, well-accepted facts, and should compre- 
hend a discussion of points that are in dispute. It 
should be the endeavor of each writer of a monograph to 
present the truth of the past just a little more clearly than 
has previously been done ; at least the production should 
represent the matured viewpoint of the writer. 

GENERAL PROCESSES OF INVESTIGATION 

After selecting the subject, a general article covering 
the same should be read, if available, and a digest made of 
the leading points. ]\Iuch assistance can be gained from 
such a publication as the Encyclopaedia Britannica in lay- 
ing the foundations for an investigation. Certain phases 
of the subject will now demand attention and it is im- 
portant that some sort of an outline be prepared to guide 
one in the quest for further information. Unless this is 
done the student is apt to spend much time in collecting 
facts that will be of little assistance to him when the actual 
writing of the study begins. Some such process as the 
following can be used in evolving a monograph : 

Suppose one desires to prepare a scholarly paper upon 
Presidoit Andrew Johnson. As there is no standard life 
of Johnson which could give a suitable background, it will 
be necessary in laying a foundation for investigation to use 
either some popular work or an encyclopaedia article, or 



to refer to such an author as Rhodes, who in his History of 
the United States from the Compromise of 1850 gives a 
sketch of Johnson's life, while at the same time treating 
quite fully the events of his presidency. In reading 
Rhodes 's account certain statements will attract the atten- 
tion ; among them, charges that Johnson was raised in the 
midst of a low environment, that he was a man of intem- 
perate habits, that in various other ways he was utterly 
unqualified for the high office of President, that by his 
actions he disgraced this post of honor, and that had 
Lincoln lived he would probably have been able to save 
the Nation from much of the misery of the Reconstruction 
period — something that Johnson could not do. 

Naturally enough, the question arises wliether Rhodes 
is correct or is simply deeply prejudiced in his statements. 
The only way to decide will be through the collection of 
as much first class evidence as possible. This evidence will 
be used to clarify the following aspects of Johnson's life: 
His Early Training, Habits and PersonMity, Preparation 
for the Presidency, Mistakes as President, and The Recon- 
struction of the South. 

The most valuable is contemporary evidence. But in 
this case it is extremely conflicting; for writers in those 
days were intensely partisan in their views of men and 
events. As far as possible the credibility of each witness 
for and against Johnson must be tested. Take as an ex- 
ample The Diary of Gideon Welles, which exhaustively 
deals with Johnson's administration. The following ques- 
tions among others must be answered before one is pre- 
pared to decide how far Welles may be relied upon as a 
witness : Who was the man ? What were his qualifications 
and opportunities to write with accuracy 1 Did he prepare 
his Diary with some special motive in mind? Was it ac- 
tually written from day to day? Was he biased in his 
views? In deciding these points there must be employed 
the internal evidence which the Diary contains and the 
external evidence drawn from various sources relative to 
Welles himself. 

By this proces-s of examining sharply each source of 
information the investigator will be able to do a discrimin- 

©r.l.A3.88435 
NOV 181914 -^^z 



ating piece of work, provided that his search for evidence 
is sufficiently exhaustive. 

SOURCES 

The next thing to be settled after the preliminary work 
has been done is whether or not additional light can be 
gained upon certain special phases that have attracted the 
attention of the investigator. The sources of the desired 
information are of three classes : 

a. Original sources. These consist of such materials 
as original legal documents, contemporaneous accounts left 
in letters or in newspapers, official journals, and relics of 
various kinds. 

h. Special works. These are studies pertaining to the 
field in which the subject lies, written by those who are 
recognized authorities. 

c. General works. General histories by approved 
writers make up this class. 

Note. Most school manuals, popular accounts and un- 
signed articles found in the niajority of publications should 
be used with great caution and seldom quoted as authority 
for any statement. 

The material in class a is intrinsically as a body more 
valuable as authority than that in the other two classes. 
However, it is the most difficult to use. The material in 
this class is not all of the same value ; this applies as well 
to the material that belongs to the other two classes. Again, 
the material in class b is apt to be more valuable than that 
in class c. To illustrate : An exact copy of the Declaration 
of Independence which is a so-called original source is the 
best authority as to the contents of this document. How- 
ever, it is not easily understood in all its phases when 
studied without the aid of some critical commentary. 
Priedenwald 's scholarly book on the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, which behmgs to the class of special works, gives 
great assistance in interpreting this docmnent and in many 
ways is more valuable as an authority than Fiske 's History 
of the American Revolution, which is a general work deal- 
ing with this period of American History and as such is 
worth consulting. Again, among original sources, The 



Secret Journals of the Second Continental Congress are 
obviousl}'^ more valuable than the files of The Connecticut 
Gazette of the year 1776 in supplying information relative 
to the steps taken by Congress in the passage of the Declar- 
ation. While the Gazette will furnish some interesting 
information, for many reasons that will become apparent 
to the student, it is more liable to contain misstatements 
than the Journals which were officially published. In case 
of conflicting statements between tliese two sources, the pre- 
sumption nnist always be in favoi- of the correctness of tlic 
latter. 

Among tlie multitude of sccoiidai-y woi'ks of an histori- 
cal nature the writer of a monograph is called upon to exer- 
cise great discrimination in selceting those that are really 
contributions to his subject. Out of the vast quantity that 
have been published comparatively few are worthy of a 
scholar's consideration. The following reasons are gener- 
ally assigned to account for this fact : In the first place, 
writings are apt to be based upon insufficient data. Too 
many are satisfied to make sweeping generalizations with- 
out any attempt to prove them. As one scholar has pointed 
out, people have a fatal tendency "to be very sure of things 
about which they know nothing." Secondly, they do not 
often represent the results of original research. It takes 
time and patience to go to the bottom of things through 
first-hand investigation, and so secondary sources alone 
are i-clicd upon. Thirdly, they are liable to be preju- 
diced accounts. Few writers are disposed to maintain a 
judicial attitude of mind until the investigation is finished 
and, then only, arrive at definite conclusions. The ardent 
champion of certain opinions is in danger of falling victim 
to one of two temptations: either the willful suppression of 
evidence that does not harmonize with his notions, or the 
twisting of it in such a fashion that it appears to help 
prove his point. In each case there is intellectual dishon- 
esty and the work will lack authority. It, therefore, be- 
hooves one to exercise great caution in deciding how far it 
is safe to place reliance upon the statements found in any 
published work. This<3omes as a cliallenge to one's highest 
capacity for discrimination. 



THE BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A list of books and other sources that have been use- 
ful in the working up of the monograph should accompany 
it. This bibliography is always strengthened if a word of 
comment is added to each listed authority. The following 
examples will illustrate this: 

General "Works. 
George Baiicroff. A History of the United States (last 
edition, 6 vols., 1883-1885). Strongly 
prejudiced against tJie British hut ac- 
curate in statement. 
Sir George Otto Trerelyan. The American Kevolution, in 
three volumes. Puhlished in 
1903. The author takes the 
American and English Whig 
point of view. The hest piece 
of literature on the subject. 

THE TAKING OF NOTES 

No one should attempt to write a scholarly historical 
paper without first gathering notes upon the subject from 
the available authorities. It is recommended that these 
notes be taken on loose 5x8 sheets or on sheets of some 
other standard filing size. For general convenience in use 
and filing, each sheet should have the subject under investi- 
gation written at the top. There should also be a sub-head. 
Suppose the subject to be The Origin of the Declaration of 
Independence, then one of the sub-heads used might be 
Thomas Paine and the Declaration. 

These notes should be literal quotations from the au- 
thorities consulted. Let there be a sheet for each extract 
whether long or short. The author, title, volume and page 
should appear on each sheet, either along the left-hand 
margin or at the bottom. Needless to say, a pen or indelible 
pencil should be employed. 

USE OF THE NOTES 

When one has finished the task of taking notes there 
comes the problem of making proper use of them. The 
reason for having each on a separate sheet becomes 



apparent as one surveys the confused pile, dra\\Ti from 
different sources. The reason also for the sub-headings is 
now evident. For the notes with the same sub-heads are 
assembled together and soon the whole body of them as by 
magic has become at last really serviceable. Such a system 
is a great time-saver when it conie« to the mastery of these 
extracts, which is the next sti'p in the preparation of the 
monograph. In reading them over and comparing them, too 
much attention cannot be paid to conflicting statements. 
After using them, the notes can be filed away in a standard 
tiling case. 

THE WRITING OF THE MONOGRAPH 

In writing tlic paper do not give siiiii)ly a mass of 
facts. Deal with those aspects of the subject that have most 
vitally influenced succeeding events. This applies equally 
to a man's life and to a public issue. Pertinent questions 
should be raised and as far as possible answered with 
reference to problems that are connected with the topic that 
is being treated. In fact, in beginning the investigation 
one should formulate these problems that are to be solved, 
if possible. For instance, in pre[)ariug a monograph on 
WasJmigton as President it would be interesting to attempt 
to determine just how far he was under the influence of 
Hamilton and why he tended to favor the English rather 
than the French. 

Whenever reliable authorities ditfer on any imjxirtant 
point this should be indicated. A discussion of conflicting 
evidence will be the most valuable feature of an historical 
monograph. It should possess clearness and correct em- 
phasis, and great care should be used that there is a logical 
development of ideas. It should not be a mere mass of 
quotations, but on the other hand shoukl reflect the writer's 
ideas and viewpoint. Above everything else, it should be 
accurate in every detail. 

USE OF THE FOOTNOTE 

Footnotes are used for various purposes. For instance, 
whenever an important or disputed statement is made or a 
literal quotation is used, authority should be furnished for 



these in footnotes. Explanatory and additional il nstrative 
material is often found among the footnotes of well^--t - 
monographs. Reference to each footnote should be made 
in the body of the paper by means of a small figure placed 
at the end of the statement in question. Footnotes should 
as a rule appear somewhat as follows: 

(7) See Burgess, Civil War and Constitution, II., 120. 



(15) The hest discussion of this point is in GMon. 
See Vol. VI., pp. 240-250. or 
(8) It should he home in mind that Clarendon's de- 
^^ ^nXn of Cromwell is radically different from 
that (liven hy either Gardiner or Firth. 
THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF ORIGINALITY 
An instructor in History would fail in 1- ^-/^J; 
his students if he neglected to charge them never to forget 
^at ptg^a^^^ is held among writers to be nothmg less 
than a crime. A true student will certainly take pnde m 
htv ng he mark of his individuality appear m every sen 
tence of the paper that comes from his work-shop and bears 
Ws name He will see that each piece of work represents 
his finest power of achievement. 

THE HISTORICAL SPIRIT 
It is fatal to attempt to write acceptable history imder 
the impulse of strong personal, family, -^-^i;^' ;j;^]j; 
religious prejudices. While the writer may well have deep 
eonvi tions he should guard lest these lead him to tort^i. 
and distort the evidence which he has succeeded m accumu^ 
lating. It should never be forgotten that there is nothing 
Ire sacred than truth, and that to uncover the truth and 
proclaim it irrespective of preconceptions should be the 
fofty mission of every investigator. Men who distori 
facts in no matter how good a cause so as to picture the 
past as they would personally like to have it appear are not 
writing history but are defeating the cause of truth. In- 
tellectual honesty is a priceless gift— cultivate it. 



8 



BOOKS ON HISTORICAL METHOD AND EVIDENCE 

The following hooks on historical mt^liod and evidence 
are especially recommended to students interested in 
research : 

Fling. F. M. Outline of Historical Method. 1899. 
Ainsworth. 

George, H. B. Historical Evidence. 1909. Clarendon 
Press. 

Langlois, C. V.. and Seignohos, C. Introduction to the 
Study of History. 1902. Holt. 

Vincetit, J. M. Historical Research: an Outline of 
Theory and Practice. 1911. Holt. 

Two works intended for advanced students should be 
mentioned. Bernheim's Lehrbuch der Historischen Methode 
and Wolf's Einfiihrung in d/is Studium der Neueren 
Gcschichte. neither of which have up to date been translated 
into English. 



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